


His Muggle Aquaintance

by renatria



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 21:12:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7861327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/renatria/pseuds/renatria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mrs. Dursley remembers Severus Snape.<br/>Prompt:  Petunia Dursley at Snape's funeral<br/>Stand alone, but works within the "Seperated by House" universe</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Muggle Aquaintance

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published Oct 2007 in the Snape after DH community on livejournal.

"It is no secret that I do not like the wizarding world." Petunia Dursley looked out to the assembled masses. Out of the hundreds of robes of various colors, she was one of the few people dressed in muggle clothes, a black skirt and jacket with a dark red and purple blouse beneath it. "Though maybe not, you probably don't even know who I am. My name is Petunia Dursley, but once I was Petunia Evans, and my sister once attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But we're not here to talk about Lily, or Harry, the son she left behind. We're here to talk about a childhood friend of hers, Mr. Severus Snape. I first met Severus when Lily and I were children. We'd never heard of Hogwarts, or Witches and Wizards, at least not real ones, though occassionally, she would do strange, unnatural things. One of those things, which happened at the park while we were playing was seen by Sev. He and Lily were maybe nine or ten years old, I was slightly older." Petunia paused, all eyes were on her, even the ones who had earlier smirked at her muggle clothes and obvious discomfort among the wizards and witches. The childhood of Severus Snape was a secret known to few- to tell the truth, anything about the man's family and private life had been so closely held that few knew anything about it.

"He and I were never close. I saw him fairly often before Lily received her letter, and then during summer and school breaks when he would visit Lily. He was never inappropriate to me- though until I learned 'Muggle' just meant normal I thought it was some rude term. From time to time, he would invite me down to Spinners End with them for lunch. That was when I met Mr. and Mrs. Snape." She nodded at the couple sitting on the platform, an older man wearing a black muggle suit, and a woman in red and purple robes. "They too were always polite, even though I was uncomfortable with the magic obvious in their home."

"I didn't think much of him as a boy. I didn't know him as a young man, Lily had married James, and gone to advanced training to become an Auror. Her letters hinted at problems in the Wizarding world, that truthfully, I didn't want to understand. I had a baby, my precious Dudley and soon after Lily did as well, the boy Harry Potter. Time passed, a year. Then, I received an owl from the Ministry of Magic. I can still see the notice in my mind. "Mrs. Petunia Dursley nee Evans, Number 4 Privet Lane. We regret to inform you of the death of Auror Lily Potter in the line of duty. She was a hero to the wizarding world. It was signed by the Minister of Magic. " 

"She was the only family I had left. Our parents had died- we were born late in their life. I was in utter shock. Vernon saw the letter, and said nothing. He'd never liked my sister or her husband, and agreed with me about the wizarding world and magic in general. We were *glad* to be muggles, to be normal. I was sitting on the steps still when a car pulled up. It was the Snapes- all three of them. They helped me up, brought food, everything. Sev and Eileen told me about the wizarding funeral customs, and offered to bring me to the funeral. Had it not been for them I would have neither known about it nor been able to get to it. I went but didn't speak. "

"A few days later I woke to find a baby on my doorstep. Then I heard from the Snapes. Severus had been arrested for being a Death Eater, the group which had killed my sister and her husband. I couldn't beleive it. The boy- the man- the only one who thought to comfort the muggle family of a dead muggleborn witch. A boy with a muggle father. I went down to Spinners end, brought them food as they had done for me. Of course you all know that Sev was released, earned a Potions Mastery, ended up teaching, at Hogwarts no less. I dropped in on the Snapes from time to time, they let me know that the Ministry saw the deaths of my sister and her husband as the end of the war. I raised her son. Then, after ten years Harry received his Hogwarts letter. I had hoped he wouldn't, but we can't always have what we want. "

"Harry and my family never got on well. That is more the fault of my family than he, but he is my nephew, and my only living family beyond my son and husband. I wasn't very concerned about him going off to Hogwarts- it was a school, and children are safe at school. Besides, they had magic. I didn't want to see any owls, and Harry didn't send any, but Sev- Professor Snape by this point, sent copies of things going on in Harry's life to us via the regular mail. The only time I heard from the school proper was when Harry was in hospital- and never did they offer to let us visit- not that we would have. Sev's letters let me know what was going on, and it scared me. "

"Harry received the Daily Prophet. From time to time, I've seen copies. Even when the paper was denying any problems, they were evident. I don't think Harry ever realized his subscription continued to be delivered day after day while he was in school. It was only during Harry's fifth year that I realized that the children weren't safe in that school, despite its reputation. I should have seen it earlier, the boy was seriously injured at least once a year, but I felt reassured that Sev would be there, and watch out for him. "

"I understand that Severus Snape was not well loved by his students. I want to tell you, that the opposite was not true. In his correspondence, his affection shone through. He had a difficult, dangerous subject to teach when he could have easily had a much easier life in the private sector. That's the one thing where I can agree that the Wizarding world has the muggle world beat. Your best and brightest are willing to give their time and energy for the next generation. Sev-- Professor Snape did more than that, he gave his life. Not just by dying. He risked his life, for *years* so that good could triumph over evil, so that the next generation could grow and learn in peace. "


End file.
